


Candlelight in Darkness

by Sword_Kallya



Category: Girl Genius
Genre: Abuse of italics, G despite being a kink meme fill, Mentions of OC jagers, Mentions of Ruxala (and weasels), Mentions of Zeetha, Other, Surprising lack of Castle considering it's a Mechanicsburg party, Touch Deprivation, kink meme fill, minor alcohol use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-07
Updated: 2016-09-07
Packaged: 2018-08-13 12:34:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7976908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sword_Kallya/pseuds/Sword_Kallya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt:<br/><i>I'd like to see this with Tarvek, but I think post-timeskip Gil works well too for this prompt. Pretty much one of them has had very little (pleasant) physical contact with anyone else for a long time and when the other two find out they lavish him in hugs and caresses and kisses. (Smut is also appreciated, but not required)</i></p>
<p>Gil hasn't had nearly enough physical contact, Agatha knows just the thing, and Tarvek is trying to pretend not to care. (It'd be easier if he didn't have his arms wrapped around the two of them.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Candlelight in Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> After 3-4 months of radio silence, I have returned! ...With something I'd already written. Ah, well. 
> 
> A bit of explanation on why I chose Gil to ~~torture~~ have touch deprivation: in short, you _can't miss something you never had._ Tarvek, as the child of a very formal noble family, _has not had_ a healthy level of physical contact. He's developed without it, which isn't _good_ for him, but he can live for long stretches without any touch, because he never had all that much to begin with.
> 
> Gil, on the other hand, has had periods of near constant physical contact (I headcanon Zanta as very touchy-feely, Klaus definitely hugged him while carrying him across Europa, and Gil, according to Tarvek, was almost always covered in girls in Paris) followed by... _nothing._ He _knows_ what it feels like, he _wants_ it, but he can't have it.
> 
> I got far too invested in this. Enjoy!

Things have finally,  _ finally _ calmed down. Mechanicsburg threw a party - their Heterodyne was in residence and no one was (currently) trying to destroy the town. Gil put his feet up on the table and nursed a glass half-full of one of Theo’s drinks and half-full of water. (This brings the alcohol content down to about 80 proof - Agatha specifically requested Theo put the strongest stuff away for the evening.) Agatha was dancing with a succession of jaegers, all of whom seem to be trying to impress her with feats of physical prowess, Tarvek was attempting to extricate himself from Ruxala’s weasels,  _ again _ , and Gil was content just to watch people be happy for a while.

Eventually, Agatha begged off a dance with yet another jager and sank into the seat beside him in a swirl of golden skirts. “Whoof. Vago likes spinning. A lot. I think I shouldn’t have anything else to drink tonight.” She slowly tipped over into his shoulder.

The contact shocked him in a way human touch hadn’t since his first weeks at university. Just like then - when the first girl he’d saved had thrown her arms around him in a full-body hug - he desperately fought the urge to tense and throw her off.

“Gil?” Agatha swayed back up to look at him. “Is everything alright?”

“It’s fine,” he said (too quickly). “Nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”

“Don’t try to lie, Wulfenbach,” snapped a voice from behind them. Tarvek, now weasel-free, had rejoined the head table. “You can’t fool anyone.”

“Boys,” Agatha sighed loudly, cutting off the beginnings of another argument. “Gil, you know you can tell us if something bothers you, right?” Her green eyes were intensely earnest, and very close to him.

Gil’s alcohol-laced mind gathered its courage and, before he could shut himself up, muttered, “It’s just touch deprivation. I’ve done this before.” It took valiant effort not to smack himself in the head.

“Oh,  _ Gil. _ ” Slowly, telegraphing every move, Agatha pulled him into a hug. Her hands left his back for a moment, and then Tarvek slid in behind them.

“Idiot,” the redhead declared. “I suppose this explains why you were always covered in girls in Paris.”

It was… intense. He hadn’t had any serious physical contact since, well, Paris, but this felt nice.  _ Right, _ in a way he hadn’t felt since matching his vague memories of his mother to Zeetha’s descriptions of Skifander. 

Agatha pulled back eventually. “Touch deprivation is like any other sensory deprivation, it can be overloaded too. So,” her grin turned mischievous, “hugs. Every day. Possibly from Zeetha.”

“Do you  _ want _ to kill me?”

Agatha laughed so hard she had to put her head down on the table.


End file.
